To us les enfants, sauf un, grandissent
by justwaitingontheworldtochange
Summary: The war against Grindelwald has begun and Maddie and Julie are right in the middle of it. Code Name Verity Hogwarts AU. CNV/HP crossover. Julie/Maddie.
1. Prologue

**A/N:** This took up residence in my brain. HP/Code Name Verity crossover. I don't own these characters or the setting upon which I've placed them. I know I should be writing _Teenagers, _but I feel like I needed to get this off my mind in order to do so. Bonus points to anyone who can tell me where the title is from!

* * *

First year is, fittingly, when it all begins.

Maddie can still remember sitting in an empty compartment, save for herself, and fiddling with her hair, being nervous about coming to Hogwarts for the first time. She remembers the weight of her trunk dragging her, admittedly, skinny shoulders, and the small boats teetering in the water. She remembers seeing the castle for the first time and wanting to paint it in all of its glory.

In total, only sixty First-Years arrived at Hogwarts that autumn. The war was in full-swing and the threat of Grindelwald loomed even at the castle.

Maddie remembers hearing about her dormitory mate before she actually got to meet her. Half-Veelas tend to be talked about after all. Not to mention the fact that all five of Julie's brothers that were still at Hogwarts stood and stomped their feet when their sister walked up to the Sorting Hat.

_"Margaret Brodatt." Maddie said smartly to the petite blonde thing as soon as she enters the dormitory._

_"Julia Lindsay MacKenzie Wallace Beaufort-Stuart." Her companion responded, cheerfully taking her hand and shaking it vigorously. "I am going to be an Auror."_

A product of their time, that's what Julie always says the two of them are. Children maturing amidst the backdrop of war. Growing and aging and seeing themselves as weapons that can be used to fight Grindelwald and bring him down.

So maybe first year is not when everything begins, then. Maybe everything began earlier when the war first started, when Julie's eldest brother was killed, when Maddie's parents were shot down over London.

Maybe First-Year is not when everything begins, but it's when _Maddie and Julie_ begin. And that makes all the difference.


	2. November 1941 - Seventh Year

**A/N:** Please note that this story will not be in chronological order. Rather, Maddie and Julie's journeys will be told through snapshots of their Hogwarts years and beyond. The chapter titles will contain the month and year each chapter takes place in as well as what year Julie and Maddie are in at Hogwarts. I still don't own CNV or HP.

* * *

"Hullo." Maddie opens her eyes just in time to see Julie nudge the door to their dormitory closed, hands fumbling in her robes for, Maddie knows, her pack of cigarettes. "Didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't."

Julie flips the latch on the window and Maddie hears her mutter a spell under her breath to light the stick tucked neatly between her fingers. Maddie sits up, facing her friend sat atop the window sill. The smoke from Julie's cigarette floats out the window and billows out towards the Great Lake, visible from Gryffindor Tower even in the dark.

"Rough night?"

"The roughest." Julie nods, flicking her wrists and sending embers falling out into the darkness.

"Why did you row with him?" Maddie asks quietly, thinking of Silvey and his complete devotion to the blonde half-Veela in front of her.

"We were in disagreement."

"I knew _that_." Maddie says. "But what was your disagreement about?"

"He wanted different things."

"Different from your current arrangement or different from what you want?"

"Different." Julie says on an exhale. "From what I think I want."

Maddie watches her quietly for another minute or two before she lifts a corner of her blanket up. Julie looks towards her at the sound of rustling fabric and the harsh downturn of her mouth softens slightly. She puts her cigarette out against the concrete of the window sill.

"Come get warm then."

* * *

Many of their fellow students compared Julie and Silvey to magnets before their separation. At breakfast the following day, Maddie can see the comparison still stands, though now they are magnets of the same pole, repelling one another.

"People are staring." Julie comments into her toast. "Normally, I would be delighted by their attention, but it seems partly antagonistic today."

"The Head Boy and the Head Girl just ceased and desisted their courtship." Maddie teases her, flicking Julie's braid playfully. "Their royal subjects are not very pleased."

"Or maybe they're staring at the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain." Julie places her braid back in its normal position and traces the badge on Maddie's chest with a perfectly manicured fingernail. "First match of the season, I can't fathom how you lot manage to be so high up for the entire length of the contest."

"Will you watch?"

"Of course." Julie says, her mouth curling into a bright smile. She nudges Maddie's shoulder with her nose. "I'm proud of you. You are wonderful."

* * *

Later, after the match, when the team is celebrating their victory in the area around the hoops Maddie protects, she catches Julie's eye in the crowd. In them, Maddie sees that this i_s their year_. Their final year in the castle, they're going to make it memorable.


End file.
